Duplex receptacle power blocks (as, for example, the block shown in FIG. 1) include a plastic housing accommodating and retaining in predetermined positions hot, ground and neutral contacts, respectively. Each contact is stamped of metal, as shown in FIG. 2, and is folded in such a manner to provide a distribution blade bus and a socket bus, respectively, in one integral contact.
The contacts are positioned and retained within the plastic housing in precise registration of the socket buses with respective apertures in the front surface of the plastic housing. These apertures in the housing receive the respective terminals of an entry adapter (not shown) of compatible equipment.
The distribution blade buses, on the other hand, protrude through respective slots in the plastic housing cover (not shown) and are plugged into a suitable power supply.
Unfortunately, as can be seen from FIG. 2, the contacts of the above-mentioned connectors are made from a relatively wide strip of material which is blanked (or punched out) and then formed. This process creates a lot of scrap, thereby making the contacts costly.
Therefore, it would be highly desirable to have a more cost effective method for making contacts for an electrical connector assembly.